In honor the Fourth of July, Independence Day, here is my list for the top five quintessentially American patriot films. Not just patriotic films, not just flag-waving, not just war movies, but quintessentially American films that celebrate characteristics that traditionally have been defined as American, such as “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” “government of the people, by the people and for people,” and where people are created equal and they stick up for the little guy. Not surprisingly, director Frank Capra is well represented on this list.
1. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
– It is hard to think of a more quintessentially American film than Frank Capra’s classic starring James Stewart, as an idealistic, naive man appointed to the U.S. Senate. Although Mr. Smith encounters corruption in Congress and a jaded media, he stays strong and stands up for his principles, capped in a riveting filibuster scene. Capra shot some footage in the U.S. Capital and faithfully reproduced the Senate chamber for the set, and the film even has more technical details about how Congress passes legislation than one would expect.
2. YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939)
– John Ford directed Henry Fonda in this biopic about one of the country’s greatest presidents, a man born in a log cabin who rose from nothing to lead the country through its greatest challenge, the Civil War. A fine performance by Fonda and a moving film.
3. SERGEANT YORK (1941)
– Howard Hawks directed Gary Cooper in this fact-based film about WWI’s most decorated hero, Alvin York, a backwoods sharpshooter who wrestled with his pacifist religious beliefs before joining the military, but where he captured a platoon of Germans nearly single-handedly, saving his fellow soldiers. One of the few patriotic American films that highlights freedom of religion and conscientious objectors.
4. MEET JOHN DOE (1941)
– Frank Capra works his magic again, this time in a tale about a despondent man (Gary Cooper), dispossessed by the Great Depression, who is dubbed “John Doe” by a cynical newspaper reporter (Barbara Stanwyck)who wantsto exploit his story. But things take an unexpected turn when the unnamed man sparks a populous movement of the “little guy.”
5. MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936)
– Like Mr. Smith, Mr. Deeds is a fish-out-of-water when an inheritance makes a small-town man into a captain of industry. Also directed by Capra and starring Gary Cooper.
© Cate Marquis / Marquee By Marquis
